“So slow I didn’t need an eco lap!” - Pol Espargaro on Silverstone MotoGP return
Pol Espargaro joked that his Silverstone MotoGP pace was so slow he had no need to conserve fuel on the out-lap.
Pol Espargaro said he took little satisfaction from scoring points in his first MotoGP appearance of the season at Silverstone.
The KTM test rider, drafted into Tech3 in place of Maverick Vinales, finished 14th at the chequered flag before being promoted to 13th following Fabio Quartararo’s penalty.
However, seven riders crashed out, and Espargaro finished 41 seconds behind race winner Raul Fernandez.
“No [it doesn't mean something], points in this situation where everyone crashed...
“I mean, it was not easy to stay on the bike. And if my confidence was not so high already, seeing each lap one guy on the floor did not make it better.
“But honestly, I was way too slow. Way, way, way too slow.
“It's been a long time since I rode here. I do not ride a 1000 bike [due to testing the 850] and what I didn't want this weekend was to make a mistake.
“I did not, but for sure I was way, way too slow.
“So, if I race the next one in Aragon, I believe that would be much better because the confidence is growing and my body and my brain need to think about what happened this weekend, a lot of inputs were too fast.
“I think if I keep going, everything is going to be better. If not, that’s alright because it would mean that Maverick will come back.”
“I didn’t even need an eco lap!”
Asked whether he had been extra cautious because of the severe tyre drop expected after the Sprint, Espargaro joked:
“I'm not on the level or the mood of conserving the tyre. I'm way too slow. I saw on the out-lap everyone doing the fuel consumption eco lap, and I was flat out because I was so slow that I didn't even need to do it!
“I arrived 40 seconds off the leader. I felt sorry because I was fighting with Toprak in the last laps and that was embarrassing [for us], so far away. But anyway, we had a bit of fun at least, both of us.”
Espargaro, a MotoGP podium finisher for KTM and Honda during his full-time career, repeated that spending so much time on KTM's future 850cc/Pirelli bike has highlighted how extreme the current 1000cc/Michelin machines have become.
“The lap times yesterday were insane. So, every year the 1000 bike is better, it's faster, together with these engines that are crazily fast.
“You need to step to another bike and go back to the 1000 to realise how crazy this category is.”
Pedro Acosta was the leading KTM rider, in fifth place, finishing 35 seconds ahead of Espargaro.
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
